Governments from around the globe have agreed to continue working intensively on a proposed international pandemic agreement, committing to further refine the draft text ahead of the Seventy-seventh World Health Assembly, which is scheduled to commence on May 27, 2024.
Delegates meeting at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva reached a consensus to resume both hybrid and in-person discussions over the coming weeks. These upcoming sessions are designed to advance critical and complex issues that remain under negotiation, including the establishment of a proposed new global system for pathogen access and the fair sharing of benefits derived from them, such as life-saving vaccines, treatments, and diagnostic tools. Furthermore, discussions will focus on bolstering pandemic prevention initiatives, integrating the "One Health" approach, and securing the robust financial coordination required to significantly scale up countries’ domestic and collective capacities to prepare for and respond to future global health emergencies.
Reflecting on the milestone, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General, emphasized the dedication shown by the international community throughout the process. During more than two years of intensive negotiations, WHO Member States have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to forging a generational agreement aimed at protecting the world from a repeat of the devastating horrors and systemic failures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Welcoming the determination that all participating countries have shown to continue their vital work and fulfill the critical mission upon which they embarked years ago, Dr. Tedros underscored the high stakes involved in the ongoing diplomatic and technical efforts.
The ongoing negotiations are being spearheaded by the Member State-led Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB), an institutional framework established more than two years ago specifically to take this historic effort forward. The Bureau of the INB, which has been guiding the multifaceted process through various rounds of text drafting and stakeholder consultations, will ultimately submit its finalized outcome and recommendations for formal consideration at the upcoming World Health Assembly.
Dr. Precious Matsoso, an INB Bureau Co-Chair representing South Africa, highlighted that tangible progress had been achieved during the latest round of discussions, covering a wide and comprehensive range of issues contained within the draft agreement text. Dr. Matsoso remarked that the international community is currently witnessing history play out before its collective eyes, as nations come together to design a binding pact dedicated to safeguarding the health and well-being of all citizens across the globe. She acknowledged that the task at hand is far from simple, representing the very first time in history that the international community has embarked on a collective process to develop a comprehensive, dedicated agreement focused explicitly on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. Emphasizing the gravity of the undertaking, she noted that getting the task done properly means getting every detail right, and affirmed that the INB Bureau remains deeply committed to helping finalize a meaningful, lasting agreement that can withstand the test of time.
Echoing these sentiments, fellow INB Bureau Co-Chair Mr. Roland Driece of the Netherlands pointed out that when sovereign countries first launched this ambitious process two years ago, they did so with the full awareness that they had set an extraordinarily tight timeline to achieve an equally ambitious global goal. This unprecedented effort by all WHO Member States was launched in direct response to an unprecedented global health emergency, namely the devastating COVID-19 pandemic that disrupted societies, economies, and healthcare systems worldwide.
Mr. Driece noted that these sovereign states took up the challenge with the clear recognition that a high degree of international collaboration, solidarity, and operational coordination would be urgently needed in the face of future transnational pathogens. While negotiations have undeniably been challenging and fraught with complex diplomatic hurdles at times, all participating countries remain firmly united in the consensus that the world must be significantly better prepared for the next inevitable pandemic. Emphasizing the biological reality of global health risks, he stressed that it is not a matter of if another pandemic will happen again, but rather a matter of when. Consequently, the international community simply cannot afford to miss this historic opportunity to make the world a safer place from the looming threat of the next global health crisis.
The current push toward a binding international framework has deep roots in the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, heads of state and government representing roughly two dozen countries issued a joint statement of commitment, sounding the alarm and calling for enhanced global collaboration to effectively prepare for, prevent, and respond to future biological threats. Building upon that political momentum, WHO Member States formally decided in December 2021 to launch a comprehensive global process to draft and negotiate a legally binding convention, agreement, or other international instrument designed to fundamentally strengthen global pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response architecture for generations to come. As delegates return to the negotiating table in Geneva and through virtual channels in the weeks leading up to May 27, the international community faces a critical window to translate years of complex diplomatic discourse into a concrete, actionable reality.
